Miki Shoji

A convenient method for discriminating between natural and depleted uranium by γ-ray spectrometry

A convenient method for discriminating between natural and depleted uranium reagent was developed by measuring and analyzing the gamma-ray spectra of some reagents with no standard source. The counting rates (R) of photoelectric peaks of gamma-rays from nuclides with the same radioactivity divided by their emission probability (B) are expressed as a function of gamma-ray energy. The radioactivities of 234Th and 234mPa and 21.72 times that of 235U are equal to the radioactivity of 235U in natural uranium. Therefore, the plot of 21.72-fold R/B for 235U should be on a curve fitted to the points for 234Th and 234mPa in natural uranium. Depleted uranium with a 235U isotopic composition of less than 0.68% could be discriminated from natural uranium in the case of a reagent containing 4.0 g of uranium.

Roles of ROS and PKC-βII in ionizing radiation-induced eNOS activation in human vascular endothelial cells

Vascular endothelial cells can absorb higher radiation doses than any other tissue in the body, and post-radiation impaired endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) function may be developed as a potential contributor to the pathogenesis of vascular injury. In this study, we investigated early alterations of eNOS signaling in human umbilical venous endothelial cells (HUVECs) exposed to X-ray radiation. We found that ionizing radiation increased eNOS phosphorylation at Ser-1177 and dephosphorylation at Thr-495 in HUVECs in a dose-dependent (≤ 20 Gy) and time-dependent (6-72 h) manner. The total expression levels of eNOS were unchanged by radiation. Although a transient but significant increase in extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) phosphorylation and a biphasic decline in Akt phosphorylation were observed after irradiation, these inhibitors were without effect on the radiation-induced changes in eNOS phosphorylation. There was an increase in protein kinase C-βII (PKC-βII) expression and the ablation of PKC-βII by small interfering RNA (siRNA) negated the radiation effect on the two eNOS phosphorylation events. Furthermore, when the radiation-induced increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation was prevented by the anti-oxidant N-acetyl-L-cysteine, eNOS Ser-1177 phosphorylation and Thr-495 dephosphorylation in irradiated HUVECs were significantly reduced. However, transfection of PKC-β siRNA did not alter ROS production after irradiation, and NAC failed to block the radiation-induced increase in PKC-βII expression. Taken together, our results suggest that ionizing radiation-induced eNOS activation in human vascular endothelial cells is attributed to both the up-regulation of PKC-βII and the increase in ROS generation which were independent of each other.

Distribution of 111in‐ and 125i‐labeled monoclonal antibody 17‐1a in mice bearing xenografts of human pancreatic carcinoma hup‐t4

Background. The prognosis of pancreatic adenocarcinoma still remains poor because of the lack of reliable diagnostic tests for early stages of the disease. Monoclonal antibody 17‐1A(MoAb 17‐1A) has been studied extensively, and the antigen recognized by MoAb 17‐1A is expressed by adenocarcinomas of the pancreas and stomach, as well as other normal and malignant epithelial tissues. The potential of MoAb 17‐1A was investigated for its ability to detect pancreatic carcinomas. The use of MoAb 17‐1A in treatment also was studied.

Removal Characteristics of Wipe Devices under Various Conditions

Understanding the removal factor for specific conditions is essential to estimate removable surface contamination levels by wiping. The removal characteristics of dry foamed polystyrene pads and filter paper applied to polyvinyl chloride flooring are investigated using 14C-thymidine under various conditions (i.e., weight of contaminants, wax coating, temperature and humidity). Eight wipes were performed per flooring piece with a uniformly deposited contaminant to estimate the total removable surface contamination. The wipe devices were pressed against the surface by 2 kg-force with fingertips. The first wipe ratio (the ratio of the activity removed by the first wipe to the activity removed by eight wipes) from flooring on which was deposited 500 &mgr;g mL−1 of 14C-thymidine solution varies between 24% and 71% for polystyrene pads and between 33% and 83% for filter papers, depending on the atmospheric humidity and temperature. For deposition concentrations of 1 &mgr;g mL−1, the mean first wipe ratio using polystyrene pads, which are almost constant vs. humidity and temperature, are 68% and 24% for waxed and unwaxed surfaces, respectively. Under the same conditions, the mean first wipe ratio for filter paper varied with both the surface and the environmental conditions. The total recovery (the ratio of the total activity removed by eight wipes to the total deposited activity) for deposition concentrations of 500 &mgr;g mL−1 tended to increase with humidity for both wiping devices. The total recovery for deposition concentrations of 1 &mgr;g mL−1 is generally low. The first wipe ratio in the lowest case with foamed polystyrene pads in this study was 19%. In that case, the total removable activity is speculated to increase from the sum of eight wipes, if additional wipes are performed. Therefore, the theoretical value of 0.1 recommended by ISO for the removal factor is appropriate when wiping polyvinyl chloride flooring using foamed polystyrene pads.

Elevation of ratio of urinary N-acetylneuraminlactose to free sialic acid in some advanced cancer patients

We estimated the levels of free sialic acid and sialylated oligosaccharides excreted in the urine of normal donors (n=10) and patients with gastric cancer (n=6) and colorectal cancer (n=4). The total sialic acid level in cancer patients was similar to that in normal donors. However, the ratios of glycosidically bound sialic acids to free sialic acid were higher in some advanced cancer patients than in the normal donors. A major component of sialylated oligosaccharides was N-acetylneuraminyl α (2 → 3) lactose. The elevation of the urinary ratio of this sialylated oligosaccharide to free sialic acid observed in some advanced cancer patients in this study may reflect the elevation of sialyltransferase activity in tumor tissues.

Modification of LSC spectra of 125 I by high atomic number elements

The 125I pulse-height spectra via a liquid scintillation counter (LSC) displayed notable variations. The counting efficiencies of higher and lower energy peaks increased and decreased, respectively, with the enhancement of the amount of high atomic numbered elements within the cocktails. This tendency was ascribed to the increasing probability of the interaction of photons with the scintillation cocktail. Moreover, it was noted that the shape of a 125I spectrum strongly depends on the amount of high atomic numbered elements.